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This is the second part and it primarily concerns lead volume. Lead volume is a big consideration when selecting a lead company. We all want as many good leads as we can get. However, remember that lead volume can be inversely related to lead quality. When a company claims they have a plethora of leads, that can be a warning sign in many ways. The first way is that it might simply be a lie to make you believe they can send you more leads than they really have. The second is that they may be reselling leads generated elsewhere or old leads that are aged or recycled. After all there are only so many people shopping for insurance in any given place at any given time.
Fortunately, there are simple tools you can use online, for free, that can help you investigate the traffic volumes of any website. Compete.com is one of them and it lets you do side by side comparisons.
Let's say lead company XYZ, an old and very established lead company, says they are growing (even in this terrible economy) and process 600,000 "applications" a month. Sounds good right? You want to buy from a lead company that is growing and can give you lots of good leads, right? Lead companies know the answer to that question is most likely "yes." Therefore, you must be suspicious when you hear it and do your own investigation. Fortunately, a compete.com unique visitor report can help shed some light onto the veracity of growth statements, at least when it comes to traffic. Here are the monthly unique visitors of three of the oldest companies in the internet insurance lead business compared on compete.com:
SnapShot of netquote.com (rank #1,320), insureme.com (#2,277), mostchoice.com (#7,991) - Compete
First of all, none of these companies have grown their volume of traffic over the last year. Let's face it, over these last 6 months or so, who has? So much for insurance being recession-proof! Last time I looked at the stock price of any big insurance company, it was DOWN. A claim like that just doesn't make sense for an older, more established, lead company that has a slower growth rate as a result. Especially if their lead volume is being generated through "interesting" and possibly unsustainable ways (see part 1.) A new lead company could make such a statement because growth is a term that is relative to prior figures, but I don't know if you want to be with a new lead company either.
So, if XYZ company told you that they were growing, you might want to question the veracity of that statement and likewise other claims and representations that they are making. "Growth" is a relative term and just like other representations, may be subject to definition. You may wish to ask just what that definition is! You also might want to ask the sources of their lead volume. After all, a Compete.com report only show the traffic on that particular website. Therefore, a company can still increase the volume of leads in absence of an increase in traffic. However, a claim like this, in the absence of an increase in web traffic, might indicate growing another way. That other way may be very important to know. BTW, my hat goes off to Insureme for having an up month last month, good job!
Look for part 3 next week.
Fortunately, there are simple tools you can use online, for free, that can help you investigate the traffic volumes of any website. Compete.com is one of them and it lets you do side by side comparisons.
Let's say lead company XYZ, an old and very established lead company, says they are growing (even in this terrible economy) and process 600,000 "applications" a month. Sounds good right? You want to buy from a lead company that is growing and can give you lots of good leads, right? Lead companies know the answer to that question is most likely "yes." Therefore, you must be suspicious when you hear it and do your own investigation. Fortunately, a compete.com unique visitor report can help shed some light onto the veracity of growth statements, at least when it comes to traffic. Here are the monthly unique visitors of three of the oldest companies in the internet insurance lead business compared on compete.com:
SnapShot of netquote.com (rank #1,320), insureme.com (#2,277), mostchoice.com (#7,991) - Compete
First of all, none of these companies have grown their volume of traffic over the last year. Let's face it, over these last 6 months or so, who has? So much for insurance being recession-proof! Last time I looked at the stock price of any big insurance company, it was DOWN. A claim like that just doesn't make sense for an older, more established, lead company that has a slower growth rate as a result. Especially if their lead volume is being generated through "interesting" and possibly unsustainable ways (see part 1.) A new lead company could make such a statement because growth is a term that is relative to prior figures, but I don't know if you want to be with a new lead company either.
So, if XYZ company told you that they were growing, you might want to question the veracity of that statement and likewise other claims and representations that they are making. "Growth" is a relative term and just like other representations, may be subject to definition. You may wish to ask just what that definition is! You also might want to ask the sources of their lead volume. After all, a Compete.com report only show the traffic on that particular website. Therefore, a company can still increase the volume of leads in absence of an increase in traffic. However, a claim like this, in the absence of an increase in web traffic, might indicate growing another way. That other way may be very important to know. BTW, my hat goes off to Insureme for having an up month last month, good job!
Look for part 3 next week.
